LightningRhod
Go Kart Champion
Starting this journal for archiving purposes and to share with the community. From the get go, the plan was to keep this car for the long haul until it dies or becomes too much of a liability to repair. This is my first European car, so it's also a test in long term reliability as well.
Here is my history. The car is dual purpose, so it serves as my daily driver and the occasional track day. Oil changes and intake filter cleaning are done every 5k miles. I use Mobil1 0w-40, but the OEM Castrol oil is used when at the dealer (10k, 20k, 30k carefree maintenance). Cabin filter is changed around every 10k (or whenever it starts to smell funny). Mileage at which aftermarket mods were installed are approximate. All installs done by me unless otherwise noted.
Car purchased 2010 Nov (Autobahn DSG)
GTIstock by ichibankakkoii, on Flickr
2011 June, 10442 miles
- 10k service done at dealer
2011 October, 20400 miles
- Wastegate rattle issue analyzed
- 20k service done at dealer
- Low coolant light went off. Brought it to the dealer to pressure test it. No leaks found. Have not had a problem with water pump or low coolant since then.
2011 November, 21925 miles
- Wastegate retaining slip installed per TSB121107
- DSG update 37G2 applied to mechatronic unit
2011 December, ~23000 miles
- AWE boost gauge installed
2012 February, ~28000 miles
- Neuspeed P-flo intake installed
- Enkei PF-01/Dunlop Star Specs purchased and installed
DSC_0191 by ichibankakkoii, on Flickr
2012 March, 30745 miles
- My first track day at Sonoma![Smile :) :)](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
DSC_0676 by ichibankakkoii, on Flickr
- 30k maintenance done at dealer
- Carefree brake fluid flush done
- Driver Gear (manual 4-door) springs installed (installed by a reputable member in San Jose on the MKV forums). Went with the manual springs because I wanted the drop just a tad lower in the front.
DSC_0381 by ichibankakkoii, on Flickr
2012 April, ~33000 miles
- APR Stage 1 installed
2012 May, ~37000 miles
- Ultimate Racing downpipe (metal 200 cell cat, resonated) installed
- APR Stage 2 installed
2012 July, ~40000 miles
- 40k maintenance (oil, plugs, fuel filter, cabin filter) done by me.
- Unibrace UB installed
2012 August, ~43000 miles
- Unibrace XB installed
XB1 by ichibankakkoii, on Flickr
2012 September, ~45000 miles
- 2nd track day at Sonoma (sorry no pics for this one)
2012 December, 50316 miles
- DSG service done at dealer
- Started experiencing DSG chatter at low speeds (like at a drive thru). Asked dealer to check it out, could not reproduce. After some research on the forums, it seems to be normal thing that happens with DSG as they age.
2013 March, ~57000 miles
- Continental DWS tires purchased and installed on stock wheels
2013 April, 60148 miles
- Error code P2015 popped up. Intake manifold replaced under warranty.
- Started hearing a metallic noise when turning the wheel lock to lock at low speeds. Dealer found exhaust hangar loose and heat shield for steering rack bent down. They ended up fixing this for me for free![Smile :) :)](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
- Started experiencing a rubbing noise when pulling up the parking brake. Dealer found no mechanical problems with it, but did hear the noise. They would have had to charge me extra to pull everything out to lube the parts to get rid of the noise. I said "No thank you". Honestly, haven't heard it since.
- Found damage on the front bumper (small paint chip, like somebody dropped a tool on it). I expected them to just paint chip it, but they offered to re-spray my whole bumper. Win for me
.
2013 May, ~63000 miles
- Audi R8 red coilpacks installed
2013 December, ~78000 miles
- 3rd track day at Laguna Seca
A64F9404 by ichibankakkoii, on Flickr
2014 February, ~83000 miles
- OEM SPM BBK installed w/Stoptech Street Performance pads.
- ATE Super Blue DOT4 fluid
- Spark plug change (NGK BKR7EIX Iridium IX)
DSC_0382 by ichibankakkoii, on Flickr
2014 April, ~90k miles
- OSIR CF lip installed
2014 July, ~100k miles
- DSG fluid change
- Battery tested, low charge identified. Dealer recommended replacing the battery.
- Dealer tech also broke my battery cover and installed it incorrectly......freaking idiots. They offered to take care of me with a new battery cover and re-inspection of the DSG transmission, but I was in the middle of a move back to the Bay Area.
- Damage to passenger side headlight. Piece of metal bounced off the road and put a hole in it. All the lights still work, but I should really replace the unit.
20141005_182311 by ichibankakkoii, on Flickr
2014 October, ~111k miles
- Replaced passenger side headlight
- Battery was spewing battery acid and smelled terrible. Replaced the battery with a Duralast Platinum (H6 AGM)
Just a shot of the nice new headlight, as well as half of the custom Colgan bra that I have on.
20141007_160755 by ichibankakkoii, on Flickr
2014 November, ~112k miles
- Car threw code "P0302: Cylinder 2 misfire". Was going to try to change out coilpack #2 with the stock unit I still have, but the CEL turned off after 2 days by itself. It then turned back on a week later and stayed on. Need to troubleshoot.
2015 January, ~117k miles
- Track Day #4 @ Laguna Seca
- Carbon cleaning done. CEL and rough idle solved.
- Car paid off![Smile :) :)](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
Feel free to ask any questions.
Here is my history. The car is dual purpose, so it serves as my daily driver and the occasional track day. Oil changes and intake filter cleaning are done every 5k miles. I use Mobil1 0w-40, but the OEM Castrol oil is used when at the dealer (10k, 20k, 30k carefree maintenance). Cabin filter is changed around every 10k (or whenever it starts to smell funny). Mileage at which aftermarket mods were installed are approximate. All installs done by me unless otherwise noted.
Car purchased 2010 Nov (Autobahn DSG)
![](/forums/proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Ffarm8.staticflickr.com%2F7460%2F12558885015_407a8fcac5_z.jpg&hash=c2a3a158a5a51b41c17ffe90398261d3)
GTIstock by ichibankakkoii, on Flickr
2011 June, 10442 miles
- 10k service done at dealer
2011 October, 20400 miles
- Wastegate rattle issue analyzed
- 20k service done at dealer
- Low coolant light went off. Brought it to the dealer to pressure test it. No leaks found. Have not had a problem with water pump or low coolant since then.
2011 November, 21925 miles
- Wastegate retaining slip installed per TSB121107
- DSG update 37G2 applied to mechatronic unit
2011 December, ~23000 miles
- AWE boost gauge installed
2012 February, ~28000 miles
- Neuspeed P-flo intake installed
- Enkei PF-01/Dunlop Star Specs purchased and installed
![](/forums/proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Ffarm8.staticflickr.com%2F7227%2F7398968666_7726678f1d_z.jpg&hash=3df367ce7457fff729a5e3c6d9438496)
DSC_0191 by ichibankakkoii, on Flickr
2012 March, 30745 miles
- My first track day at Sonoma
![](/forums/proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Ffarm8.staticflickr.com%2F7196%2F6832343798_2335759360_z.jpg&hash=addf2e5b6a3e18b9de547dbd462ad604)
DSC_0676 by ichibankakkoii, on Flickr
- 30k maintenance done at dealer
- Carefree brake fluid flush done
- Driver Gear (manual 4-door) springs installed (installed by a reputable member in San Jose on the MKV forums). Went with the manual springs because I wanted the drop just a tad lower in the front.
![](/forums/proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Ffarm3.staticflickr.com%2F2865%2F12416669203_e04cefb760_z.jpg&hash=39c801c363d96c318e9027961a831c08)
DSC_0381 by ichibankakkoii, on Flickr
2012 April, ~33000 miles
- APR Stage 1 installed
2012 May, ~37000 miles
- Ultimate Racing downpipe (metal 200 cell cat, resonated) installed
- APR Stage 2 installed
2012 July, ~40000 miles
- 40k maintenance (oil, plugs, fuel filter, cabin filter) done by me.
- Unibrace UB installed
2012 August, ~43000 miles
- Unibrace XB installed
![](/forums/proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Ffarm9.staticflickr.com%2F8001%2F7689328184_5432b85c27_z.jpg&hash=ec8367093294b60de7f871d4df7f3fef)
XB1 by ichibankakkoii, on Flickr
2012 September, ~45000 miles
- 2nd track day at Sonoma (sorry no pics for this one)
2012 December, 50316 miles
- DSG service done at dealer
- Started experiencing DSG chatter at low speeds (like at a drive thru). Asked dealer to check it out, could not reproduce. After some research on the forums, it seems to be normal thing that happens with DSG as they age.
2013 March, ~57000 miles
- Continental DWS tires purchased and installed on stock wheels
2013 April, 60148 miles
- Error code P2015 popped up. Intake manifold replaced under warranty.
- Started hearing a metallic noise when turning the wheel lock to lock at low speeds. Dealer found exhaust hangar loose and heat shield for steering rack bent down. They ended up fixing this for me for free
- Started experiencing a rubbing noise when pulling up the parking brake. Dealer found no mechanical problems with it, but did hear the noise. They would have had to charge me extra to pull everything out to lube the parts to get rid of the noise. I said "No thank you". Honestly, haven't heard it since.
- Found damage on the front bumper (small paint chip, like somebody dropped a tool on it). I expected them to just paint chip it, but they offered to re-spray my whole bumper. Win for me
2013 May, ~63000 miles
- Audi R8 red coilpacks installed
2013 December, ~78000 miles
- 3rd track day at Laguna Seca
![](/forums/proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Ffarm4.staticflickr.com%2F3783%2F11537131606_7dc02bc924_z.jpg&hash=a37c0f1c9e87f9f79f488522ae42d1c7)
A64F9404 by ichibankakkoii, on Flickr
2014 February, ~83000 miles
- OEM SPM BBK installed w/Stoptech Street Performance pads.
- ATE Super Blue DOT4 fluid
- Spark plug change (NGK BKR7EIX Iridium IX)
![](/forums/proxy.php?image=https%3A%2F%2Fv4s.yimg.com%2Fso%2F7430%2F12416538385_9cedf081dd_z.jpg&hash=f3b8b887a9b4ece1b0b0df39777d7ada)
DSC_0382 by ichibankakkoii, on Flickr
2014 April, ~90k miles
- OSIR CF lip installed
2014 July, ~100k miles
- DSG fluid change
- Battery tested, low charge identified. Dealer recommended replacing the battery.
- Dealer tech also broke my battery cover and installed it incorrectly......freaking idiots. They offered to take care of me with a new battery cover and re-inspection of the DSG transmission, but I was in the middle of a move back to the Bay Area.
- Damage to passenger side headlight. Piece of metal bounced off the road and put a hole in it. All the lights still work, but I should really replace the unit.
![](/forums/proxy.php?image=https%3A%2F%2Ffarm6.staticflickr.com%2F5600%2F15433953799_5b5dd0e2cc_c.jpg&hash=63d43a868adc0f59ad042dbb09321b5d)
20141005_182311 by ichibankakkoii, on Flickr
2014 October, ~111k miles
- Replaced passenger side headlight
- Battery was spewing battery acid and smelled terrible. Replaced the battery with a Duralast Platinum (H6 AGM)
Just a shot of the nice new headlight, as well as half of the custom Colgan bra that I have on.
![](/forums/proxy.php?image=https%3A%2F%2Ffarm4.staticflickr.com%2F3944%2F15621430062_3b67f41265_c.jpg&hash=adc792dbb45d1134f110b36bfcc68ec6)
20141007_160755 by ichibankakkoii, on Flickr
2014 November, ~112k miles
- Car threw code "P0302: Cylinder 2 misfire". Was going to try to change out coilpack #2 with the stock unit I still have, but the CEL turned off after 2 days by itself. It then turned back on a week later and stayed on. Need to troubleshoot.
2015 January, ~117k miles
- Track Day #4 @ Laguna Seca
- Carbon cleaning done. CEL and rough idle solved.
- Car paid off
Feel free to ask any questions.
Last edited: